The Mitchell Files 5
by Neuropsych
Summary: (COMPLETE!) Just some casual playtime with the group - and maybe some Melony&Carson time (It's probably not going to need this rating, but you never know)
1. 01

_A short story – more or less – just to play with the characters a bit, and maybe throw in some fluffiness._

_Disclaimer: I don't own anyone in this story except for Mitchell and Talon, and I'm not making any money off it, so there..._

OOOOOOOOO

Carson Beckett held the gun in his hand loosely, carefully looking over his shoulder and then ahead of him as he inched his way along the wall. He thought he heard a noise, and froze, but the corridor was empty as near as he could tell, and the noise he'd thought he'd heard wasn't repeated. He took another few steps, coming to the intersection of the hall he was in and another one, and stopped, breathing as silently as could, his heart hammering in his chest. He peeked around the corner, and found himself staring into the barrel of a gun, and the steely blue eyes of the person holding it.

"You're dead, Doc."

"Damn it."

Sheppard grinned, and lowered the stick he'd been using as a gun. Since there was no way he'd ever use a real weapon in a war game with people who weren't trained with them – and Beckett definitely fit that category – he and the others, including the good doctor, were using sticks. Blue sticks for handguns, red ones for machine guns.

"You did good, Doc," he said, reaching out and taking Beckett's blue stick away from him. "Better than last time."

"Much better," a new voice added, and Carson turned and saw that Melony Mitchell had joined them, walking down a hallway with several blue and red sticks in her arms, as well. Trailing behind her were a group of Beckett's medics and several of the scientific officers of the group, including Peter Grodin and several others that never would have believed they'd have been playing war games. These people were being followed by several of the Marines and Air Force personnel who made up the security forces of the Atlantis base, and Beckett noticed they all had their sticks, still. Which meant none had been killed by their 'enemies'.

Colonel Mitchell was smiling, and Beckett wasn't immune to that smile. He felt his annoyance at being 'killed' by Sheppard fade almost immediately in the aftermath of the praise. One of the science officers wasn't so pleased, though.

"I don't know why we have to do this," she complained. "It's annoying to take time out of my busy schedule in order to learn something that I have no use for."

"No use?" Sheppard asked, walking over to stand by her while Mitchell leaned against the wall near Carson, watching. "What happens if someone – or something – gets on this base? What happens if we –"and he meant the security teams – "have our hands too full with dealing with one set of invaders to help you guys get to safety? The more you learn now, the better, and you're lucky that you're learning it here, where mistakes won't kill you."

The scientist sniffed, but she didn't say anything else, and Mitchell looked to see what the faces of the others in the group would tell her. She was far better at reading people than most – mainly because she had Talon to add in anything that she might have missed – but she didn't see anyone else who looked like they wanted to complain. Although it was no fun to be 'killed', most of the people in this group were bright enough to understand the reasoning behind the training they were getting, and they were, for the most part, becoming much better at moving silently, and even setting up ambushes.

_Of course, they have good teachers_

She smiled, but she knew that Talon hadn't just meant her and Sheppard. While she, herself, was as good in the field as anyone, and better than most, she was well aware that she was far too impatient to be a good teacher. She was too sarcastic and too quick to become annoyed at dunderheaded people and questions. Major Sheppard, on the other hand, had proven to be the teacher she wasn't, and he was the one that was bringing the less skilled along at a rate they could manage. Along with several other members of the security force that had shown a faculty at instruction that Melony couldn't equal.

_You do well enough with the more advanced ones_

I know. That's because they don't ask stupid questions, and they don't whine.

_They probably _do_, just not where you can hear it_

She smiled again, and stood up a little straighter now that Sheppard was done with his lecture.

"You're all dismissed," she said, waving them away. "We'll do this again in three days, so try not to let everything you've learned trickle out of your ears during the course of your normal duties – and I want you all to work on those hand signals until you don't even need to think about what you're doing."

There was a bit of muttering, but no dark looks were tossed her direction. Not that she was all that surprised by that; the people on the base now knew who she was – she'd been with them almost two months, after all – and they all knew her history, and knew that she was dangerous. Far more dangerous to a System Lord, of course, but none of them wanted to run the risk of pissing her off and maybe having her holding a grudge against them.

Which of course, she wouldn't.

_But they don't need to know that, right?_

Exactly.

She didn't mind the reputation. For one thing, it kept would be suitors away. The people on the base were young, and healthy, which meant that they had libidos. And Mitchell didn't mind this, as long as they all kept their libidos to themselves – or at least away from her. For another, if something ever did happen on the base, she knew that they'd obey an order from her immediately, without questioning it – and that might save their lives.

Sheppard walked over to stand beside her and Beckett as everyone filed away, and he grinned.

"They're doing pretty well."

"They're doing great."

"We might want to start using empty weapons. It'd have a different feel for them if they were carrying something that was capable of killing them – instead of a stick."

"I have McKay working on rigging up some kind of laser tag thing, so we can fire at them – and they can fire at us, of course – and if we get hit the laser beeps and lets them know."

"Good idea."

"Of _course_ it's a good idea."

He smiled and gave her a mock salute.

"I'm going to go find Ford and see how he's doing with his group – maybe even kill a few of them. Want to come?"

She shook her head – she was tired of dealing with whining civilians, and was ready for a little relaxation.

"I'm going to go read, or something."

"You stay away from my book."

"I already read it. Want me to tell you how it ends?"

He held his stick up, obviously threatening to 'kill' her, and she grinned and shooed him away.

As they watched him leave, Carson turned to Mitchell.

"You're going to go read?"

She shrugged.

"Unless you have something else in mind?"

And wasn't _that_ just a double-edged statement? Carson knew she hadn't meant for it to be, though, and he smiled.

"A cup of coffee and some company?"

Melony smiled. How well he knew her.

"Sounds like a plan. The commissary or my quarters?" Those were the only two places that had coffee pots, after all.

"The commissary. Then we can have something to eat, as well."

She wasn't all that hungry, but she nodded. She could probably be talked into eating something.

"Let's go."


	2. 02

The Commissary was crowded with people, something Melony didn't want to deal with just then. She looked over at Carson, wondering if he'd mind if they changed their venue. As if he was reading her mind, he spoke up before she could.

"You know, we could grab a snack and go to your quarters for the coffee..."

Mitchell smiled, and nodded.

"Sounds like a plan."

They headed for the buffet tables and saw that the menu was meatloaf with all the trimmings. Since Melony wasn't all that hungry – she'd really just wanted coffee and maybe a piece of cake – she took a small dish of the trimmings (potatoes and steamed veggies) and a couple of cookies, then waited for Beckett at the doorway while he filled a plate with far more food. Being killed made you hungry, after all. Especially if you're not used to it.

Lieutenant Ford came through the doorway as she was waiting, a small group six with him, mostly composed of medics – although there was one structural engineer in the group as well. Who apparently was quite the stalker according to Sheppard and Ford. Both men had discussed him with Mitchell, who'd agreed to take him into the more advanced group that she was in charge of. This group included Rodney McKay, who was picking things up fairly well on his own during missions with Sheppard and the others, but still lacked a few skills that would be vital to preserving his skin if they ran into serious trouble.

"No place to sit?" Ford asked, grinning.

Melony held up her plate and gestured with her chin towards Beckett, who was just finishing up and heading her way.

"We're going to go find peace and quiet. You need anything before I go?"

"Nah. I've done my killing for the day, I'm ready to eat."

Mitchell nodded.

"I'll talk to you later about that Daniel guy."

"Sounds good, Colonel." He walked off towards the buffet tables as Carson stopped next to her.

"Are you ready?

She nodded and Beckett looked critically at her plate.

"That's all you're eating?"

"I'm not hungry, Carson. I was just going to have coffee originally."

He harrumphed, but aside from that, he didn't nag her about it, and Melony smiled. If he would have, she might have grabbed more food just to make him happy – not something she'd do for just everyone. As it was, the two of them headed for her quarters and a pot of coffee that wouldn't take too long to make.

OOOOOOOO

"So, who's Daniel?" He asked her as he settled his plate in the middle of her bed a few minutes later.

Mitchell still didn't have any furniture in her room besides the large bed and the dresser that held her coffee pot (and clothes, although the coffee pot was far more important to her) so if you were going to sit in her room, you were going to sit on the bed, and if you were going to eat in her room, the bed magically became a table with blankets. At least she made it every morning, which made spilling the plate a bit less of a danger.

"Daniel?" She looked over at him from the coffee pot, which was already started.

"I heard you tell Lieutenant Ford you would talk to him later about Daniel..."

She wondered why his face was suddenly so unemotional. Not even curious... just blank.

_Jealous?_

No. You _think_? He doesn't have any reason to worry about this guy.

_He doesn't know that, and won't until you tell him_

"He's one of the guys in Lieutenant Ford's teaching group," she said. "Apparently, he's pretty good, and Ford and Sheppard both want me to move him into my group."

It was like turning on a light, she saw. Carson's face was suddenly animate again by the time she'd finished the explanation.

"Ah."

She came over and sat down on the bed across from him.

"Why did you want to know?"

He floundered, then, and Melony knew Talon had been right. He _had_ been jealous – or maybe just a little worried. Probably more worried. It wasn't like their little relationship was moving all that quickly, after all.

"I was... you know, just curious."

Oh, God, when was the last time she'd seen someone so uncomfortable for that reason? Melony smiled, despite his discomfort, because damned if he didn't look cute trying to come up with an explanation.

"I'm told he's a structural engineer... probably some kind of genius or something – everyone here seems to be."

_That's not nice_, Talon chided. _You're goading him to see his reaction_

She'd wanted him to flounder a little more, because it _was_ cute when he was like this, and it'd been a long time since someone had been so flustered because of her. But he was right, it was cruel and unbecoming, and Melony was instantly ashamed.

"I haven't met him," Carson was saying. "I-"

"Carson..." Melony reached out and touched his cheek, stopping him. "He's just going to be in my classes, nothing more."

He nodded, but the damage had been done, and she could see the discomfort in his eyes, and the desire to be anywhere but where he was. He confirmed it a second later.

"Maybe I should go..."

She shook her head, feeling like a heel, and knew that this was all her fault, and she was going to have to fix it now – before he left and it had a chance to grow into something bigger. Something that might actually affect their fledgling relationship adversely.

"No," she told him, moving his plate out of the way and setting it on the little stand next to her bed so there was no chance of her spilling meatloaf on her bed. "You need to stay."

"I didn't mean to sound like I was jealous," he said, looking down – anywhere but her eyes. "I know I don't have any claim on you, and that you're free to choose any-"

"Carson."

He stopped, looking up at her for a moment before his eyes went down to his hands. Melony shifted on the bed until she was close enough to take his hand without having to reach for it. Close enough that she could touch him without difficulty.

"I'm sorry, Carson." She told him, holding his one hand with both of hers, wishing he'd look up at her. "I could see you were jealous, and it looked so cute that I wanted to make you more jealous... it wasn't nice of me..."

He looked up at her, his blue eyes uncertain.

"You think I'm cute?"

She smiled.

"Haven't I said that before?"

He shook his head.

Melony let go of his hand and took his chin in her hand, feeling the softness of his facial hair against her fingers as she held his head still so he had to look at her.

"Yes, I think you're cute."


	3. 03

_Author's Note: Okay! Okay! One more chapter, but then I really have to get some work done! Here you go! Just a taste of what's to come some day :)_

OOOOOOOOOOOOo

He blushed, then. A brilliant shade of red that Melony could see even through his beard, and he tried to lower his eyes in embarrassment, but her hand was still holding his chin, and he couldn't.

"I've embarrassed you?" She asked, smiling tenderly. God, he looked cute this way, too. Maybe it was just that she thought he was cute no matter how he looked?

"I wasn't expecting..." he trailed off, his hand coming up to hers, moving hers from his chin and holding it. He had to be able to look down. He couldn't handle the intensity in her gaze. Although he _liked_ it.

"That's _my_ fault, then," she said, squeezing his hand. "I should have said something sooner. I thought I had..."

He shook his head, looking down at their hands, which were resting on her thigh.

"I shouldn't be so insecure that I need you to-"

Melony chuckled, gently, and leaned forward, brushing a kiss against his cheek.

"Carson. I think you're cute. I think you're more than cute, and you might as well know now that I'm attracted to you – because I am."

He felt a warmth flow over him, and let go of her hand so he could put his arms around her, holding her close. It was something he'd done before, but it'd been weeks, and he'd wondered if he'd read more into the touch than she had intended for him to. Now, however, it felt right. And better than that; she was holding him just as willingly.

Melony rested her chin on his shoulder, her cheek just close enough to his that his facial hair was tickling her skin. She brushed her fingers along his back and felt him shiver slightly at the touch.

"I'm sorry..." she murmured softly. "I didn't mean to be so-"

He turned his head, and moved just enough that he could catch her lips with his own, his hand coming to her chin in the same motion she'd used on him to keep his head still. It wasn't a long kiss, and it wasn't a deep kiss, but it was their first real kiss, and she felt a shiver go through her at the contact.

He pulled away, his face only inches from hers, his eyes wide at his own audacity as he gauged her reaction.

"I'm sorry... I had to..."

She smiled.

"I'll get over it..."

They stared at each other for a long moment, each reeling slightly in a jumble of emotions that the embrace – and then the kiss – had generated, but neither moved from the other, and there was still an air of uncertainty in their glance. They both were wondering the same thing, even though neither of them spoke up. Was she ready to move past the hurt that had left her so achingly empty and step up their relationship?

The coffee pot on Mitchell's dresser gurgled noisily, telling her that the coffee was ready, and Melony turned her head from Beckett's gaze to look at it.

"Coffee?" She asked him, her voice just a step above a whisper.

He nodded, letting her go so she could get up, and she surprised him by pressing a gentle kiss of her own against his lips before she moved. He watched as she went over to the dresser, and his tongue tasted her on his lips as he watched her fill two mugs with coffee.

She returned, and handed him one of the cups, sitting down just slightly further from him than she had been. Of course, she probably didn't want to be burned if he dumped his coffee on her, so he couldn't blame her.

"We should talk about this, hmmm?" She asked as she took a sip of her coffee.

He nodded.

"I don't know what you're ready for... or how far you're willing to..."

She smiled and shook her head, but the smile was sad, and the old hurt was there in her eyes, plain to see. It was there most of the time, but usually when she noticed someone was watching her, she'd shake it off and hide it behind some kind of quip or a question that would draw the other person's attention elsewhere. He was the only person she didn't do that with. He was the only one that she let him see her at her most vulnerable. Like just then.

"I don't know, either, Carson," she admitted. "I don't want to do anything that will ruin what you and I could have..." Which was an admission that she had feelings for him, and it made his heart sing. "But it's not fair to you that I make you wait for me to get over-"

"I don't mind waiting for you, Melony," he said, setting his cup aside. He wasn't that much of a coffee drinker – although he liked it, he didn't crave it all the time like he knew she did. "I told you a long time ago that I'd wait for as long as you needed, and I meant that."

"You don't mind?"

He shook his head.

"Not at all," he assured her. "I'm in no hurry, and I'd much rather you were positive about what you want..."

Melony's smile was relieved, and he watched as that familiar pained look left her expression – at least for the moment.

"I know what I _want_..." she said. "I'm just..."

"You're just not ready," he said, leaning forward and brushing a kiss against her cheek. "But someday you will be, and I'll be here, waiting."

She pressed the palm of her left hand – the hand that wasn't holding the coffee cup – against his chest, feeling his heart beating through his clothing as she held it there. She was ready for some things. More than she had been. She'd known it the moment he'd kissed her the first time. She shifted, slightly, and brushed another kiss against his lips.

"I'm ready for this much," she whispered against his lips.

She _needed_ that much.

He smiled, and pulled her into his arms, carefully to avoid having her coffee spilled on him, and he deepened the kiss just a bit, wanting more but willing to wait and take what she could give him. It'd be worth the wait, he knew.


	4. 04

They ended up sitting side by side, leaning against the wall at the head of her bed as they ate their meal. Since Melony didn't have as much to eat, she finished first, but she was more than willing to have another cup of coffee and cuddle lightly against him while he finished his own dinner. They didn't say much while they were eating – and they really didn't need to – but once he was finished, Beckett took one of the cookies from her plate and smiled.

"So... am I ready for your advanced class, yet?" he asked her.

She shook her head, and took another sip of her coffee before setting it to the side next to his cup.

"Probably not, but you're doing a lot better than you were. At least it's a bit harder to sneak up on you than it was."

"You really think we need to learn this?" He asked. "I know that Major Sheppard has a good reason for wanting us to know some of it, but how often do you really think we're going to have to pick up guns and defend ourselves?"

"Hopefully never," she said, shrugging. "Best case scenario; something happens – someone who doesn't belong on base comes in – either through the gate or from outer space – we military types find them before they can do any damage and we stop them before they get anywhere."

"Worst case?" Beckett asked.

"Worst case, we get overrun and have to retreat – or we're disabled and you and your staff are on your own without much help." She took his plate from him and put it next to her coffee cup. "In that instance, not only do we need you and your people to be able to protect the base, but we need you to be able to protect _yourselves_, because if we're injured, you're going to have to be healthy enough to put us back together."

He nodded.

"I never thought of that."

"Best case scenario, you wouldn't have to," she reminded him, taking his hand. "You and the rest of the expedition would have landed here and found a thriving city filled with Ancients who were more than ready to welcome you into their community – and come back and help Earth with whatever they needed."

"But not help with the Goa'uld, since you already took care of that for us."

She shrugged.

"I had help."

"So... do you miss being the most powerful system lord around?"

She smiled, knowing that he'd gotten that particular phrase from Rodney McKay – who loved to tell stories about her exploits to anyone who'd listen, no matter how many times she told him to stop.

"Well, technically, I'm still the most powerful system lord around here, you know?" She told him. "It's not like there's any competition, after all."

"Good point."

He yawned, and she looked at her watch – it was far later than she'd expected it to be, and she knew he'd been up since early that morning. She figured she'd better let him get to bed.

"I'm going to take the dishes back to the commissary," she told him, looking over at him. "You need to get some sleep."

"Kicking me out already?" He asked her, turning his head to look at her. Melony smiled, because he looked cute sleepy, too.

"Nope. You can sleep here if you want."

"With you?"

"In my bed," she corrected. "It's not quite the same thing."

"Will you be in it, too?"

She shook her head, smiling.

"I'm going to take the dishes back to the commissary." she repeated.

"Then what?"

_Sleep with him_

What?

She felt Talon's amusement at her surprise.

_I didn't say have sex with him – although it probably wouldn't kill you – but you're right about probably not being ready for that kind of intimacy. Just spend the night in his arms and see how it feels. It's been a long time since you've had that kind of contact and it'd be good for you_

You think so?

_Why not?_

She was quiet long enough that he turned, wondering if she thought he was trying to press her into something she didn't want to do, and he saw the introverted look in her expression that usually meant she was conversing with Talon.

"Is he telling you to tell me to leave?" He asked, only half-joking.

Melony grinned, and leaned over and kissed him lightly.

"No. On the contrary, he's telling me that it'd be a good idea to spend the night snuggled up beside you – to see how I handle it."

"I always knew I liked him."

She laughed, and pulled away from him.

"I'm going to take these dishes back."

"Are you going to come back?" He asked. "If you don't want to, I understand – and I don't mind. I'm not so tired that I can't make it back to my own bed."

She shook her head.

"You stay here, Carson. I'm not... well... I'm not completely sure I'm brave enough to come back, but if I am I'd rather not have to track you down..."

He nodded and Melony gathered up the dishes – and the used cups – and left her room.


	5. 05

She took the dishes back to the commissary like she said she was going to. The room was empty – as was the kitchen – but there were warming steamers on the buffet tables in case some of the late night shift needed a snack or dinner and there was always a pot of coffee ready for drinking. She dropped off the dirty dishes in the sink in the kitchen and poured herself a cup of coffee, then left the empty room to go find solitude in a place that she'd already decided was far more to her liking.

A shirt while later she was standing on one of the balconies that overlooked the water, staring out into the night, and sipping her coffee.

_You're stalling_

I know.

_He's not going to rush you into anything you aren't ready for_

I know.

_I like him_

I do, too.

_You're attracted to him_

Yup.

_Love him?_

What if it's just chemistry? She asked, avoiding the question.

_What if it isn't?_

She sighed.

"I thought I was the only one who ever came out here at night..."

The voice startled her, but she was too calm to let it show. Mitchell turned and greeted Doctor Weir as the older woman walked out onto the balcony as well.

"Good evening..."

Weir smiled.

"Hi. Am I interrupting?"

Mitchell shook her head.

"I'm just doing some thinking."

"This is a good place for it," Weir agreed. "I do a lot of my thinking out here." She came over and stood next to Melony, looking out over the water as the moons rose, lighting up the areas of the city below them. "Heavy thinking? Or just trying to decide what to have for breakfast?"

"Pretty heavy..."

Elizabeth nodded.

"Need a sounding board?"

She already had a sounding board, but it might not be a bad idea to ask someone else's advice. Get a female's point of view, even – which Talon could never give.

"Are you married?" Mitchell asked, deciding she'd try to get the advice without giving away too much. She wasn't really in the mood to get depressed, and that was going to happen if she named names, or told too much of the story.

"I'm engaged." Weir said, smiling. "To a man named Simon, who is probably incredibly angry with me – or hurt – because I left him with no more than a recorded message – that I'm not even sure he's been allowed to see."

Melony nodded.

"Are you?" Elizabeth asked. She didn't think she was, but who knew?

Mitchell shook her head.

"If you found someone here – or on one of the worlds that we visited – that you... um... were attracted to... what would you do?"

"That's easy," She said. "I already told you, I'm _engaged_. Whether Simon still believes it or not, I love him, and I'm going to get back to him some day."

"What..." Melony sighed, silently, because that wasn't her situation. "What if he... didn't want you back – or _couldn't_ want you back? What if something happened to him, and you knew he wasn't waiting for you?"

"If he were killed, you mean?"

She nodded, feeling that familiar hurt.

_Easy..._

"I'm not sure, Colonel..." Weir said, softly, thinking it through because she had a feeling this was the part of the problem that Mitchell had been thinking about while she'd been standing in the dark. "I suppose it would depend on a few things... mainly how ready I was... to have a new relationship..."

Which didn't help at all, Melony decided. She already knew she wasn't exactly at one hundred percent when it came to relationship readiness – although she was getting there. It just seemed she was cheating on Brad when she even considered being with Carson – and that thought hurt.

"However..." Weir continued, and Mitchell looked over at her. "If there was a chance for me to be happy..." She shrugged, "I can't imagine that Simon would want me to be miserable the rest of my life just because he wasn't there..."

From the thoughtful look on Mitchell's face, Weir decided she'd given enough advice. Too much could be just as bad as not enough. She wrapped her arms around herself, and gave the Colonel a sympathetic smile.

"It's cold out here... I think I'll find a cup of tea and get to bed. Goodnight, Colonel..."

Melony nodded, but it was obvious that her mind was a million miles away.

"Goodnight, Doctor Weir... thanks..."

She didn't reply, she just left, and Mitchell turned and looked back at the water.

OOOOOOOOOOOO

It was much later when she finally returned to her quarters. She let herself in silently, and looked over at the bed as she closed the door. Carson was sound asleep, sprawled on her bed – under the blankets – and looking just as endearing to her asleep as he did when he was awake. The light by the bed was on, but it was turned to its lowest setting, causing the room to be bathed in a dim light instead of a bright glare, which probably would have kept him awake.

She bit her lower lip as she watched him sleep for a few minutes, then slid her shoes and socks off and walked silently over to the bed. Reaching over and turning the light off the rest of the way, she slid under the blankets, moving close to him.

That woke him, somewhat, and he opened his eyes to a dark room.

"Melony?" His voice was a sleepy whisper.

She turned to him, unable to see him in the dark, but knowing exactly where he was. She felt his hand reach out to touch hers, and heard his voice once more.

"You're shivering."

"I'm cold," she told him – it wasn't completely a lie.

He scooted closer, pulling her into his embrace and pressing his warm body lightly against hers, and Melony leaned into him, closing her eyes and burying her face against his chest as she fought her own demons and began to beat them back.

"Hold me, Carson," she whispered.

His arms tightened a little and she felt his hand caressing her back, comforting her and calming her. He knew how difficult this was, and there weren't enough words for him to tell her how proud he was of her. He pressed a kiss gently against the top of her head and hugged her tight for a moment before relaxing the grip so she could breathe.

"For as long as you want..."


	6. 06

He was the first to wake up the next morning. Not surprising, since he knew she'd had as long – if not longer – a day the day before than he had, and he knew that her day had been more difficult. He woke in what was the position that 90 percent of the men in Atlantis would envy; in her bed with her snuggled right up against him. Of course, they were both fully dressed – a testimony to the fact that they hadn't made that ultimate step in their relationship – but Carson didn't care about that. Something a lot more important had happened the night before, and he knew it.

As if his own waking had triggered hers, he felt her stirring next to him, and he looked down just in time to see her turn her head up to look at him. Her pale eyes were sleepy and slightly unfocused, and he was reminded of the fact that she wasn't one of those people who could leap right out of bed in the morning, wide awake and ready to go. As he'd found out while nursing her through her injuries when she'd first come to Atlantis, it took quite a bit of coffee and waking up time – although she assured him that she could wake up quickly if circumstances required it. Apparently, though, that meant if someone was shooting at her, or something equally life-threatening.

And this wasn't it, apparently, because she closed her eyes once more, her head going back to his chest.

He smiled with delight, and ran his fingers lightly through her short silky hair.

"Good morning..."

She grunted what might have been a greeting, and her hand came up to rest on his side.

His smile remained, but now it was amused, and he felt a pang in his chest that he'd never felt before. Protectiveness? Nah, he was a doctor, and doctors were always protective – although it was usually of their patients. It could have been love. He'd thought he'd been in love before – several times – but it'd never felt like this. Maybe it was a mixture of both...

"Are you going to go back to sleep?" he whispered, wondering if he should get up so she could actually sleep. It couldn't be all that comfortable with her cheek pressed against the fabric of his shirt.

She mumbled something he couldn't understand, and he pulled away just enough to be able to change positions a little; scooting down on the bed enough that he was face to face with her instead of chest to face. Her eyes were closed, but he didn't mind watching her in this position any more than he minded watching her in any other position. She was adorable when she was sleeping. And very tempting. Too tempting.

He leaned the few inches necessary and brushed his lips against hers. She sighed – sleepily? But the hand that she wasn't sleeping on came up and her palm rested against his cheek, cupping his face.

"Do that again," she whispered.

He kissed her again, brushing his thumb along her cheek, and she sighed again and smiled – but still hadn't opened her eyes beyond that initial look.

"Should I leave so you can sleep?"

"Do you have to?"

"No."

She brushed her palm against his cheek – feeling his beard, he knew – and shook her head.

"Stay a while?"

"Of course..."

_You know, if you were to wake up a bit, you might be able to actually hold a conversation with him_

Hmmm?

_Wake up, Hot Shot, and talk to him_

What?

Her lack of awareness in the morning was not limited to those who were around her, it also included those actually residing inside her – but Talon was used to it. He found it incredibly amusing that someone normally so aware of what was going on around her could have so much trouble getting started in the morning.

He woke her up just a little, sending a very small amount of adrenaline through her system. Not enough to make her jittery or anything like that, but enough to get her blood flowing and actually get her mind working in a faster speed than super slow motion. She reacted to it by opening her eyes, and she frowned in confusion when she saw that they were eye to eye. Hadn't she just been resting her face against his chest?

"It's morning?"

He chuckled.

"Yes."

She didn't have that completely focused look, yet. And Carson Beckett knew her focused look well – he stared into her eyes every chance he'd gotten, after all. His fingers brushed her cheek again, and Melony closed her eyes at the relaxing touch.

_He's a doctor_, Talon told her, just as amused as Beckett was_. They have gentle hands_

Yeah.

_And skilled fingers_

She blushed a brilliant red at the image he sent with that – sometimes it was just too easy for Talon to embarrass her – and he frequently used that ability to keep her off balance. He found it hilarious, and she was so used to his sense of humor that she knew he never meant it as anything but in fun.

Carson wondered at the sudden flush, and it was his turn to frown as he felt her skin warm under his fingers.

"Are you all right?"

She nodded, and ran her hand along his side. Mainly because she wanted to touch him, but it was also her way of distracting him from her blushing until she could get them under control.

That wasn't nice.

_But it was_ funny

She smiled, and cuddled against Carson's warm body.

"Can you stay a while?" She asked. Again. Of course, Talon knew she didn't remember the first time.

"Yes." His own hand went from her cheek to her side, sliding tenderly along her tender curves – although his touch wasn't designed to be any more intimate than her own. He just wanted to touch her. "Are you going to go back to sleep?" He was beginning to realize that questions needed to be repeated frequently when talking with her in the morning.

She shook her head, and caught his roving hand with hers, holding it against her stomach which also trapped it between their bodies.

"I just need a chance to wake up..."

Yeah, he could tell.

With her hand between their bodies, she had complete access to his belly – as much as he had access to hers – but unlike him, she wasn't afraid to touch him. Of course, she was still more asleep than awake, so it was entirely possible that she wasn't all that aware of where she was touching, but he was. When her hand started stroking his belly softly, Carson bit back a groan and held himself very still, hoping she'd never stop but well aware that if she didn't, she was going to drive him crazy before too long.


	7. 07

Mercifully, it was Talon who pointed out to Melony what she was doing long before she would have wakened up to notice herself. Once he told her, though, she was immediately aware of Carson's reaction, and wondered how she'd missed it. Of course, the answer was that she'd been more asleep than awake, but it wasn't an excuse for teasing him, and she stopped what she was doing, holding her hand still as she opened her eyes and looked at him.

"I'm sorry..."

"I'm not." He told her, honestly. It was true, after all. He'd let her do that all day if she wanted, and never expect a thing from her. It was the pleasure and joy of the touch he was after when it came to Melony, after all, not necessarily the completion.

She smiled, grateful that he was so forgiving, and cuddled close for a long moment while he relaxed a bit and she finished waking up enough to want a cup of coffee. Eventually, when his heart stopped racing quite so fast, he kissed her softly.

"I'm glad you came back last night."

"Me too."

"How did you do?"

Meaning, how did she handle it.

"It was scary at first..." she admitted, candidly. "But..." she ran her hand along his side. "I'm getting better at it."

He chuckled, and caught her hand.

"If you keep that up, I'm going to end up breaking my promise to you," he chided her, gently. "Are you awake enough to start your day?"

She nodded. More or less.

"Are you?"

"Oh, yeah, I'm definitely awake." If he hadn't been originally, he definitely was, now.

"Hungry?"

"I could eat. How about you?"

She nodded.

"I'm going to go back to my quarters and get changed. How about I meet you for breakfast in half an hour?"

"Sounds good."

He caught her face in his hands and kissed her – a deep, lingering kiss that took her breath away – one she returned willingly.

"I'll see you soon, okay?"

She nodded, and he slipped out from under the blankets and headed for the door. Melony kept her eyes open just long enough to see him out, then closed them and dozed off again, holding her pillow since he wasn't there to cuddle with her. She had a half an hour and an internal alarm clock that would make sure she was up in twenty-five minutes.

Talon muttered something about lazy humans, but she was already asleep, and didn't hear him.

OOOOOOOOOO

Thirty-five minutes later, she was in the commissary, sitting alone at a table with a cup of coffee in front of her and her head in her hands as she tried to wake up.

"Long night?"

She looked up and saw John Sheppard just sitting down across from her, an amused grin on his face.

"Long enough," she agreed.

"You look tired."

"I just need to wake up."

"Have a piece of toast." He handed her a slice of his toast, and Melony took it, nibbling on it because she knew that eventually it would help wake her up.

"What do you have planned to-"

"_Good_ morning!"

Rodney McKay came over and sat down beside Mitchell, a plate loaded with food a bright cheerful smile on his face.

Melony scowled, but he didn't even notice.

"I finished a prototype of those laser guns you wanted, Colonel," he told her, smugly, as he took a bite of his breakfast.

"Already?"

He shrugged, trying to look modest, and failing.

"The mechanics of the devices are fairly simple and any moron can make a laser do what they want it to, it's just a matter of-"

"So you have a prototype done?" Sheppard asked, interrupting him before Melony could.

"Actually, I have _four_ done. Four guns, and four receivers. I thought you might want to try them out and see if it's what you wanted before I bothered to make enough for a couple of groups to use all at once."

"Try them out...?"

"A little skirmish," Rodney said. "You know... you against Major Sheppard, or something like that?"

"Or her against you?" Sheppard asked.

McKay rolled his eyes, "She'd kill me in an instant, and I know it."

"One on one isn't effective for a real test," Melony said, beginning to wake up a bit now that there was an actual conversation going on around her. "How about..." she looked around and saw that Carson was just entering the commissary. "You and Major Sheppard, and me and Doctor Becker?"

John frowned.

"Hey, I shared my toast with you. How about you and me, against McKay and Becker – Beckett?"

She smiled.

"That wouldn't be fair."

"But it'd be fun..."


	8. 08

"Tell me again exactly why I'm being used as a guinea pig...?" Carson asked a couple hours later.

Melony smiled, and tugged on the vest she'd just helped him into.

"Someone has to try them out. Why not you?"

"Why not Grodin? Or someone who's better at this than I am?" He asked, looking down at the 'gun' in his hand. It was vaguely gun-shaped, and it had a trigger, but it didn't shoot bullets, it shot a laser beam that would only react to the receivers that were on his vest – as well as the vest Melony was wearing, and the two that Major Sheppard and Rodney McKay had on.

"Because you were handy." She told him, checking the fit of her own vest as well. She didn't want to be getting her arms tangled up in it or anything, after all.

The radio on her belt crackled to life before Beckett could say anything else, and they heard Sheppard's voice.

"Are you two ready?"

"Ready?" she asked him.

Carson sighed, and nodded.

"As I'll ever be, I suppose."

She smiled, and keyed her mic, which was on her shoulder.

"We're ready, Major. We'll start in five minutes."

"Roger."

They were in the bowels of the city – although in a place that had already been explored fairly well. It wouldn't do to play a war game in unexplored territory in this city, they'd decided, since who knew what they might run into? No, while they did need a place that was isolated and uninhabited by any of the crewmembers, they also didn't want a place that might spring surprises at them that they weren't ready for. So they were in one of the lower levels that Sheppard and the others had explored almost immediately after their arrival.

"I'm going to get killed," Carson said, resigned. "You know that, right?"

She smiled, and touched his bearded cheek for just a moment.

"You'll do fine."

He didn't look so confident, but he didn't say anything, and she checked her 'gun' to make sure she could get it out of the holster easily.

"This probably isn't the time," he said, watching her, "but can I sleep with you again tonight?"

She looked over at him, a slight smile on her face although she had a serious expression.

"It's not the time," she agreed.

He nodded, and she relented.

"But, yes. If you'd like to, you're welcome to."

Since there was no doubt from his expression that he'd like to, her smile grew just a little, but then Talon reminded her that in a few minutes Sheppard and McKay were going to be looking for her, anxious to get a kill where they'd never been able to before and the smile faded.

"Kill McKay, and I'll let you sleep with me all week." She told him. Of course, she probably would anyways – schedules permitting.

"What do I get if I kill Major Sheppard?" He asked.

Melony laughed, and headed for the hall.

OOOOOOOOOOO

Since all four of them had the Ancient's gene – two had it naturally, and Melony and Rodney had it genetically engineered into their systems – the rooms in the city tended to accommodate them more than it would have if they didn't have the gene. This was normally a great help, since it allowed all four of them to use the technology of the Ancients – provided they understood it well enough to actually use it. At the moment, though, it was more of a hindrance, because they all four noticed that wherever they went, the lights would turn on around them.

Good for keeping from tripping or running into something in the dark, bad for sneaking up on someone.

Because of this, Melony decided that their best course of action would probably be an ambush. She and Carson went around to every room in their section of the level, allowing all the lights to come on around them, then she set Carson up in a well hidden nook just off one of the main corridors, and told him in a quiet whisper to keep his eyes open and be ready.

She was going to be the bait, and would try to lead Sheppard or McKay – or both – into the trap. Nodding his understanding, and swallowing nervously – even though he knew it was just a game – Carson hunkered down where he could see everything that was going on around him without being seen himself, and watched as she vanished.

Of the four of them, Mitchell was by far the best at this kind of thing, and she knew it. Even before she blended with Talon she'd been a member of an SG team and had been in on many ambushes and stalkings and covert operations. Once she had Talon, though, she had access to all his memories as well – which he shared freely – and that gave her an edge even over the SG members who had far more years of operations experience. And Sheppard and McKay definitely didn't fit that bill.

McKay was an egghead. A scientist who had spent far, far more time in the lab than in the field – no matter how long he'd had connections with the Air Force. He was learning, and he was getting pretty good, but compared to Mitchell he was still a rookie, and she knew that.

Sheppard was a pilot. He'd spent far more time in a cockpit than in the field – although he was a Major in the Air Force, and you didn't get to be a Major without having some experience in the field – and leading men – and Melony was more than willing to admit that John Sheppard was doing a great job of relearning as he went. He was a good leader, and showed himself to be a fairly good tracker. But he still wasn't as good as Mitchell.

So she would be the bait, because she was the one most likely to survive being the bait.

She walked silently, watching everything that was around her, and checking every spot that might be a good ambush site on its own – in case the other two had come up with a similar tactic – and went looking for the enemy.


	9. 09

"Do we separate?"

"What?"

McKay rolled his eyes, looking exasperated as he double-checked to make sure his 'gun' was working. He'd have to come up with a good name for the thing eventually – something properly awe-inspiring, or maybe something that just sounded really technical so no one could pronounce it.

"I'll go one way, you go another?" He said, slowly.

Sheppard shrugged, looking around a corner.

"It's not going to matter..." He said. "The minute we enter a room or a hallway all the lights come on, so they're going to see us coming."

"We could just wait for them to come to us," McKay said. He was more than willing to sit back and let that happen.

"Nah, she'll expect that..." Besides, he hated sitting and waiting. It was too stressful. You never sat back and waited when you were in a dogfight, after all. You attacked. You went on the offensive. This was the same thing.

"Well...?"

Sheppard scowled, looking over his shoulder.

"You know, you're the one who's supposed to be learning this stuff – why don't you tell me what you want me to do? Pretend to have some initiative."

"Fine." McKay thought for a moment – debating whether or not to try an ambush – although Sheppard had already given him the hint that an ambush wasn't going to be the best way to go, so he discarded the notion. "You go to the left, I'll go to the right, and if you die, I'll try not to trip over you."

"Good plan."

The two separated, and Sheppard advanced, his 'gun' up and ready.

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

Carson Beckett was a peace-loving sort of guy – for goodness sake, he was a _doctor_, after all. If six months before someone had come up to him and told him that he'd be in another galaxy, in the middle of the lower levels of a lost Ancient's city hiding in a hallway with a fake gun in his hand waiting to 'kill' a couple of people – and hoping to kill them because he'd maybe impress a woman he really _really_ wanted to impress – he'd have told them they were nuts, and probably have prescribed something strong. Really strong. Oh, yeah, and add in the fact that the woman he wanted to impress – okay, maybe that he _loved_ – had a Tok'ra symbiote hanging out inside her, and he'd have simply had them committed to an institution.

But here he was; crouched down low in a little nook, trying to hide in what little shadows there were and waiting in ambush for his adversaries to show their hides so he could 'kill' them. Preferably quickly so they didn't have a chance to kill him, too.

He hated guns. He wasn't all that fond of any weapon – since he'd seen first hand plenty of times what kind of damage they could do – but he really hated guns, because the damage they did was so often fatal before he had a chance to get in and fix it. But here he was, learning how to use one so he'd be able to kill someone before they could kill him – on the very off-chance that the situation arose.

He sighed, and looked down at the weapon again, glad that at least it wasn't a real gun. He wouldn't-

A noise interrupted his own musings, and he realized that he had absolutely no idea how long Melony had been gone. She'd said she was going to go find the others and lead them into the ambush, and Carson wondered – but hadn't asked – why she didn't just go kill them herself. As he'd sat there waiting, though, he'd figured that one out on his own. She didn't need the practice, and he did. She was probably also trying to teach him some kind of tactical lesson, but he wasn't sure what it could be – something about ambushes, maybe?

Whatever it was, here he was... ducking every time he heard a noise, but trying to look and see who was coming also, his 'gun' up and ready and his heart racing almost as if it were the real thing. Probably.

OOOOOOOOOOOO

She saw him coming before he knew she was there. It wasn't hard – as they'd all noticed the lights came on everywhere they went, so she simply watched for the lights to come on. He was moving slowly and quietly – cautiously – but she was in as much of an ambush spot at that moment as Carson was, and had she wanted to 'kill' him herself, he'd have been dead. That wasn't what this was about, though, so she didn't even take her 'gun' out of its holster. Instead, she used one of the oldest tricks in the book and pulled a small piece of junk metal out of her pocket and tossed it a little to the side. It landed with a soft clatter on the floor of the corridor, and she saw him freeze, swinging his weapon over towards the origin of the sound. Of course, there wasn't anything there.

She moved from her sheltered spot, and started back the way she'd come, every now and then tossing another piece of debris to make a noise – leading him in the direction she wanted him to come while at the same time keeping him from finding her exact trail – which would never do. She wasn't supposed to 'die' after all. That wasn't part of her plan.

They reached the area where the lights were already on, and she knew he was becoming more cautious. It didn't matter, though. He was in the trap now – it was just a matter of springing it.

Hoping that Carson was paying attention to the sounds that were happening around him, she allowed her foot to scuff the floor, which drew her quarry's attention and hopefully would tell Carson that she was close by. Of course, she knew he'd have no way of distinguishing her scuffle from anyone else's, but at least he'd be paying attention. She made the last turn around the corner, coming into view of her quarry at the same time she came into view of Carson's spot. If he was paying attention – and she was pretty sure he had to be – he'd see them, now.

OOOOOOOOOO

He heard the noise again. Louder this time – closer. Beckett held his breath, uncertain if it was Melony he heard or one of the others. Whoever it was, though, they were getting close to his hiding spot. Moving as silently as he could, he stood up, and saw a movement in front of him. Adrenaline coursed through him as he brought his 'gun' up, and he felt a thrill of excitement mixed with maybe a little anxiety. He was going to make a kill!

A second later, the movement was closer – although whoever it was was still in the shadows, and he couldn't see who was there. Another noise – this one from a different direction, and Carson swung his weapon around, startled. He saw gray and fired, and heard the piercing howl of the receiver on the other person's vest as the laser from his 'gun' struck it, and then heard a curse. A decidedly feminine curse. His heart dropped. He'd just killed Melony.


	10. 10

"Oh, Melony, I'm _so_ sorry..."

She ignored him for a second; looking over at the direction her quarry had been coming from, and pointed. Carson looked the same direction just in time to see McKay coming around the corner, alerted by the voices, but looking in the other direction since it was an intersection in the hallway.

Carson already had his 'gun' up, and his adrenaline was still flowing so hard that he didn't even think. He just fired his gun again, and was rewarded by another loud piercing howl – this time from the device on Rodney's vest. McKay started, looking down at his vest and then towards Mitchell and Beckett, both of whom were standing in plain sight now that he was looking that way.

"Crap."

With a look of disgust on his face, he lowered his gun, and now Melony looked at Carson, who had lowered his gun as well and was looking at her, his face troubled – probably wondering if she was going to chew him out for killing her and ruining her ambush.

"What now?" He asked, when it was obvious she wasn't going to say anything.

_At least smile so he doesn't think you're pissed off with him, Hot Shot_

She did as she was told – she wasn't mad, after all it was her own fault she'd been 'killed'. Not his.

"I can't tell you what to do, Carson," she told him. "I'm dead."

_You pointed for him_, Talon pointed out.

I would have been able to do that before I 'died'.

She had Talon, after all, and there was no way she wouldn't have pointed out the danger if not tried to take out McKay herself. Of course, in this instance, she never would have 'shot' McKay once she was 'dead' because that wouldn't have been fair. But pointing wasn't out of the question.

"What do I do?" Beckett asked, as McKay came over and stood next to Mitchell, fiddling with his vest device with a speculative look on his face.

"Major Sheppard's still alive. Go find him and kill him."

With a pained look Carson swallowed hard, but he didn't argue. He just headed down the hall, his weapon up and ready, although he wasn't being very quiet.

"You realize he's going to get slaughtered, right?" McKay told her once he was out of sight – and earshot.

She nodded, and sat down on the floor leaning back against the wall. She was dead, after all, so she might as well sit and wait.

"Yeah, probably," she told him as he sat down beside her, pulling off his vest and fiddling with it. "But I don't expect him to kill Sheppard, I just wanted him to go out and try."

Which he had without trying to get out of it – and that proved he had guts. Not that she had any doubts, since you didn't just go through a gate to the middle of nowhere without knowing what was waiting for you without having your share of intestinal fortitude. She looked at McKay.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm thinking that if I alter the spectrum of the devices it'll keep members of the same team from killing each other," McKay told her without looking up.

"Why would you do that?"

"So he doesn't kill you _next time_..." Duh.

"Why?"

He rolled his eyes. She was a lot smarter than that, and he knew it! Why was she acting so dense?

"Because if he hadn't killed you, you would be able to go looking for Major Sheppard yourself, which would-"

"You've never heard of friendly fire casualties?" Mitchell asked.

"Of course I have, but-"

"I want it as realistic as possible," Melony told him, shrugging. "The vests and guns are great. They work great. But I want them to be able to work on anyone, because _guns_ will work on anyone, and the sooner everyone realizes that they can kill their friends if they're not careful, the better."

McKay shrugged as well, and stopped fiddling with his device – although he did pick up his gun and look at it.

"You like them, then?"

Fishing for compliments wasn't something Rodney normally did, but he was a great admirer of Mitchell's, and if there was one person whose approval he wanted – at least here in Atlantis – it was probably hers.

She nodded, looking at her own.

"Yup. You might make them rigged to make noise when they fire, though – to simulate a gunshot. That way the person firing knows they can't just stand in one spot and fire away without giving away their position. Can you do that?"

"Of course." Duh.

She smiled. She'd been pretty sure he could – _she_ probably could have, after all. Except she didn't want to take the time to try and figure the guns out if she didn't need to. Besides, it was his project, and he was intimately familiar with it – and should be allowed to take the credit for it – because the guns and vest were very well made considering he only had what was available in Atlantis to use to create them. No Radio Shack around here.

"How long until you have enough of these done so that we can have full sized teams?"

He shrugged.

"A few days if I don't have any distractions. A week or so if I do. I'll make the new ones sound like guns – I can probably use some kind of percussion inside the trigger section that will-"

"Whatever works," Mitchell said, cutting him off as politely as she could. She might be dead, but she really didn't want to sit through a technical lecture... even if she did understand it.


	11. 11

It took all of ten minutes for Major Sheppard to 'kill' Carson Beckett. It wasn't as if he hadn't done the exact same thing only the day before, after all. The only difference now was that they weren't carrying sticks and they were wearing vests that made an incredibly loud noise when you died.

He and Beckett walked back to where McKay and Mitchell were sitting, waiting, and Melony stood up when she heard them coming.

"Killed him, huh?"

Sheppard nodded, but he slapped Beckett's shoulder.

"He led me on quite a chase for a few minutes there, but I got him." He looked at her, and then McKay. "You scored a kill on her?" He sounded incredulous and impressed at the same time.

Rodney shook his head.

"_I_ killed her," Carson said, wryly. "It was an accident."

Of course it was, since she was on his team.

"Well, it happens," Sheppard said.

Carson sighed, and Melony smiled as she took off her vest.

"He's right; it _does_ happen."

"It's never happened to me," McKay said, taking off his vest as well.

Mitchell scowled, and handed her vest to McKay.

"He killed you, too, as I recall..."

McKay shrugged. There was that, it was true.

"I'm going to go find something to eat, and then I'll look into how to make the guns make noises," he said, figuring that he didn't need to be reminded of the fact that he got killed. Of course, he knew that Mitchell didn't expect him to be perfect – no more than she did Beckett – but it was still kind of annoying to think that the doctor with so very little experience had managed to kill him. He was, after all, beginning to think of himself as quite the militant.

"Coming?" Sheppard asked, thinking that something to eat would be a good idea. Killing made him hungry, after all, and breakfast had been interrupted.

Mitchell shook her head, taking Carson's vest from him and handing the gun and vest to McKay.

"I've got a few things I want to take care of, first."

"I'll save you a cup of coffee."

Mitchell smiled, "Sounds good. I'll meet you there – or later in the lounge to discuss this little experiment."

Sheppard nodded and headed for the elevator contraption that would take him back up to the upper levels, and McKay followed him. Carson started to follow as well, but Melony reached out and caught him by the back of the shirt, holding him in place for just long enough to let him know that she wanted him to stick around for a moment.

He turned, and the two of them watched as McKay and Sheppard walked off, and then Melony looked over at Beckett, who sighed.

"I'm sorry I killed you."

Melony had known he was still upset about that, which was one of the reasons she'd held him back. To talk it out with him.

"Don't be, Carson. It happens."

"If it was real, you'd be dead." He was obviously upset about that. More so than he was about getting killed himself.

"That's why we didn't use real guns," she told him, matter-of-factly. "Because it happens, and Major Sheppard and I have both seen it happen." She smiled ruefully, "Although I have to admit, I didn't expect it to happen today – and that was my fault, because I really wasn't paying attention to where you were once I put you there."

"It wasn't your fault. It was mine."

She shrugged.

"So, next time you'll know to take a half a second and make sure of your target. But no longer than that, because I don't want you to make a target of yourself by hesitating."

He frowned, "How do I know how long to take?"

She shrugged. "It takes experience, Carson, that's all. You wouldn't expect me to be able to remove someone's pancreas, would you?"

"You're not a doctor-"

"And you're not a soldier." She put her arm around his shoulder, touching him for the first time. "You're just learning to be enough of a soldier to keep yourself alive – like me learning enough first aid to keep someone from bleeding to death, or something like that. Get it?"

It made sense when she put it like that, Carson thought. He nodded, and felt a little better about his performance.

"So, even though I killed you, you're okay with how I did?"

"Even though you killed me," she agreed.

He smiled.

"You _do_ realize I killed McKay, don't you?"

"You got lucky, you know? He made a big mistake freezing up when he saw me killed. That's what killed him."

"But it was my gun." He told her.

She smiled, and nodded.

"Yes, you killed him."

"Which means...?"

"That you get to sleep with me all week – schedules permitting."

He preened.

"However," she said, taking his hand and squeezing it. "I think there should be some kind of penalty for killing me."

His smile faded, and Melony laughed.

"Okay, okay... no penalty."

"Everyone says you're the hardest kill to make," Carson said, putting his arm around her as _they_ walked towards the elevator now as well. "You're lucky I don't claim a bigger prize."

_Oh, now what would the bigger prize be?_ Talon asked slyly.

Melony blushed, and kept Talon's comments to herself, because it was obvious Beckett hadn't realized the way that had come out. She knew that if he had his mind as deep into the gutter as Talon did, he'd have been blushing a brilliant red and apologizing.

_Gutter? Moi??_

She laughed, and her arm went around his waist, hugging him close, and realized that it was becoming almost natural to hold him like this. That was almost scary.


	12. Epilogue

Epilogue

The mission had been a disaster. Not only had there not been anything that the Atlanteans could use for trading, the indigenous people of the planet had decided that Mitchell and Teyla should be kidnapped and kept for breeding purposes – something that neither woman was all that keen on.

They'd made the mistake of trying to grab Mitchell first, and the moment she realized that there was a serious danger, she'd made sure that the men who'd tried to grab her wouldn't grab anyone again – not anytime soon, anyways. Not until the broken bones had healed. Then she'd pulled her Beretta, and although none of the people living on the planet knew what it was, they instinctively knew that it was dangerous – and so was she – and had backed off long enough for Teyla and the rest of Sheppard's team to join her and then get the hell off-world.

They'd dashed for the gate with pretty much an entire angry village after them – and Sheppard had had Melony use her zat to keep the fastest of them back while Ford dialed the gate, and then they'd dove through as quickly as possible in order to get through and get the gate shut down on the other side before any of the villagers could get through the gate and get killed by the shield that would be put up immediately after they all came out the other side.

Weir and several others were waiting for them when they came tumbling through, and the gate was shut down immediately. The team lay on the floor of the command room for a long minute, catching their breath, while medical teams came rushing up to them. Carson dropped down between Sheppard and Mitchell, his eyes concerned.

"Are you hurt?"

"I'm not."

"Me, either..." Sheppard agreed, trying to get a deep breath. "Ford? McKay? Teyla?"

"I'm fine."

"Me, too."

"I can't breathe."

Mitchell sat up and looked up at Weir.

"We probably shouldn't go back there anytime soon. You might want to make a note of that."

Weir nodded, and reached a hand down to help her to her feet, and Beckett stood as well, pulling Sheppard up.

"I'll want a report as soon as you can get it together, Colonel. You, too, Major."

They both nodded, and Weir went back up the stairs to the computers, signaling Grodin to make a note in their logs about not returning to planet A-34. (They had yet to figure out any really cool names for most of the planets they'd been to – and unless they knew what the inhabitants called their world, they just gave it a number and left it at that).

"I'm going to go take a long, hot shower," Ford said pulling Teyla to her feet as he got up. "That place was just too kooky."

"Kooky?" Teyla asked.

He smiled, "Come on, I'll explain it on the way..." They turned and headed for the door; followed by a medical team that would give them both a routine physical to make sure all was well with them before they were allowed to return to their quarters.

"McKay?"

Rodney held his hand up – he was still on the floor gasping.

"I need to quit smoking."

"You don't smoke," Sheppard told him.

"Then I'll start so I can quit," he said.

"Maybe if you hadn't eaten half a pound of-"

"Okay, okay." McKay heaved himself to his feet as well, and headed for the door, and Melony smiled as she watched him go.

"He's not that badly out of shape."

"Nah, he just wants us to feel bad for making him run." Sheppard agreed.

"Better to run than stay there," Mitchell said, smiling at Carson, who was still standing between the Major and herself.

Sheppard nodded again, and the three of them headed for the infirmary as well, with Melony walking between the two men.

"What happened?" Beckett asked.

Sheppard grinned, looking at Mitchell who was shaking her head in remembered disbelief.

"You're going to love this story, Doc," John told him, laughing. Mitchell scowled, but her arm went around Carson's waist for just a moment as they walked, and she felt him brush his hand briefly against her own as Sheppard started the story.

OOOOOOOOOOO

It was late by the time she'd finished her report. Way too late to go find a certain doctor – who was almost definitely in bed, because it had been a long day for him, too. She'd taken her laptop and a cup of coffee to one of the quieter places in Atlantis that she'd found – a deserted room that had probably been some kind of storage closet of some sort. It had a built in desk that was perfect for her to use as a desk – something her quarters didn't have – and she'd brought in a couple of empty boxes, one to be a chair, and one to be a stand for her coffee when she was drinking some – which was always.

Only a few people knew of this place, which meant that she was never interrupted when she was there, and unlike her quarters, there were no distractions so she was able to get her reports and other paperwork done as quickly as possible. Of course, it was hard to come up with a non-embarrassing way to write out that a race of people had wanted to use you as a broodmare, but she'd put it in as few words as necessary and made it as matter-of-fact as possible.

You better get some sleep

Yeah, I know.

She looked at her watch, and decided she'd go see if Carson was awake anyways. What the hell, he might be. She did owe him one more night of cuddling from that bet, after all, and she didn't want to miss it if she could avoid it.

Wanton 

She smiled, but didn't deny it.

"Nothing wrong with a little cuddling, you know?" She said, aloud.

Not at all 

He gave her a slight surge of affection, and Melony's smile grew. He was such a softie sometimes. Too bad he was a snake, because she was incredibly fond of him.

_Doctor Becker wouldn't like that_

Talon, of course, had been following her train of thought. It wasn't like they had any secrets between them, after all.

He'd get over it.

Go find him and get your cuddling, Hot Shot

Talon's presence faded just a little, like it did when he was retreating into his own considerations and ignoring her – as much as he could, and Melony decided that she'd do just that.

She left the broom closet – as she called it – and dropped her laptop off in her quarters, then headed for the set of rooms that were across the hall from the infirmary. Hopefully, he wouldn't already be asleep. Hopefully he'd –

"Ah, I was just coming to look for you."

She smiled when she heard the lilting brogue behind her, and turned in the hallway to see the object of her search coming from the other direction – from her quarters. She stopped and let him catch up to her, and his arm went around her – almost casually, although she knew it was something he was still getting used to doing.

"I was looking for you, too," she told him, truthfully. "I was hoping you hadn't gone to bed yet."

He shook his head, and opened the door to his quarters, which were much bigger and more fully equipped than her own – or pretty much anyone else's.

"Not without you."

It sounded so erotic when he said it like that, and Melony felt a shiver go through her. Of course, he hadn't meant anything more than just that; he was waiting for her so he could sleep with her in his arms. The two of them still slept fully clothed, and hadn't done more than held each other, although sometimes Melony was so tempted to do more. She knew that physically, she was more than ready for the next step. It was just the emotional part that was holding her back. She _wasn't_ ready – and no matter how much she _wanted_ to be ready, it wasn't going to happen overnight. Luckily, he understood that, and wasn't in any hurry.

"Someday that's going to have a whole other meaning," she told him, running her hand along his cheek.

He nodded, and hugged her close for a moment. Yes, it would. And it'd be worth the wait.

"Come on," he whispered, kissing her softly. "Let's go to bed."

The End!

So! The end. No killing – not real killing, anyways – no sex, no fighting. A little Sheppard and the others, and a lot of Melony and Carson, just like I said at the get-go. I hoped you liked the romance – I hope there was romance, and I hope none of you are disappointed with this one because there wasn't much action. There's more coming, I promise!


End file.
